Feb. 11, 2014

Junior Demyra Selby was a 1,000-point scorer with the Salisbury School. With a successful junior season under her belt, a great senior year could have her joining the 1,000-point club with two different teams. / Staff Photo by Laura Emmons

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The junior guard has stepped into a new system, a new level of intensity and made an impact from the opening tip of the season. Deciding to come back to Mardela after opting for a private school education instead of her local high school her freshman year, Selby has gotten the attention and experience she wanted to be able to play at a Division I college like she dreams.

“The thing I like most about it is the seriousness,” Selby said of the difference between public and private high school basketball.

“I think public school basketball is taken a lot more serious than private school, and it’s a lot more discipline. It’s a better preparation for college basketball.”

Selby said she knew Mardela had a great basketball program. She knew it would give her exposure, and it did have the academics she needed.

But the junior has brought much more than just another body on the Warriors’ squad.

“She’s brought with her aggressiveness both on the offensive and defensive end, which is something expected in our program, so she compliments that,” Mardela head coach Kesha Cook said. “She also brings with her an added point guard to our team, which brings versatility depending on what team we play.”

Selby’s arrival freed up Shakema Dashiell to play at her natural 2 guard position instead of point guard and score more points. Now, Dashiell, Selby and senior Briana Cook are in a three-way race for the Warriors’ scoring title.

It works for the benefit of the team and it gives the Warriors more depth, Cook said. It perfectly fits what Selby tries to do for the team — she will do whatever it takes for her squad’s success.

“I think I contribute to the team offensively and defensively a lot, but I think my coaches and seniors deserve a state championship,” Selby said. “Hopefully, I can do whatever to help them bring that back home.”

In all the noise around the Mardela team being fairly or unfairly the best team on the Eastern Shore, that is not what has motivated Selby this year.

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Instead, she said her coaches have motivated her to reach a new level as a player.

“Sometimes, you have to lose to be a better winner. That’s my motto,” Selby said. “I’d much rather take the loss earlier in the season rather than later.”

With its first slip of the season behind them, Mardela (16-1, 12-1 Bayside) can win out to win the Bayside South division and enter as a favorite in the 1A class for the state title.

Selby will play a key role in that success, but not only on the offensive end. She said one of the most vital things she’s learned at Mardela is the important of defense.

Being more disciplined at the top of the key when the opponent has tried to dribble around her or find a teammate has been her biggest improvement this year, Selby said.

“She has progressed really well,” Cook said of her defensive play. “We just try and get her in the correct position on defense to get the steals that she does. Just overall intensity, I always tell my teams, ‘Offense will sell tickets, but defense wins championships.’ So every year that’s what we do.”

But in the end, it is not the offensive or defensive contribution that defines Selby.

Cook says she brings an infectious attitude.

“Her greatest asset to the team is her determination and the hard work that she puts in to develop every day,” Cook said. “She brings that defensive tenacity to practice every day.”